Hello!

Yes, I have FREE WORLD WIDE SHIPPING on all the items in my shop from Nov 27th to 30th! =)
Also on any custom orders you place during those dates. Who doesn't like silk accessories? And silk jewelry?

http://gilbea.etsy.com



(Pssst I also have some scarves on sale, check the sale section!)

Yay!

And, if you want to find more items that have sales or free shipping, try searching for this words at etsy: etsyholidaysale and etsyfreeshipping

Also, here you can find a list of shops offering discounts, free shipping etc, love it!
Papernstitch Blog

Happy Shopping!

I just got the new hand fans made with my hand painted silk and they are fabulous! Sorry for the promotional post but I wanted to show you the new pieces =)

One is already sold, but the rest will become available soon in my etsy shop. If someone wants one of them, just let me know and I will list it.

These will be the only fans this year, unless I sell them all in 1 week and order more lol!
So if you want one for yourself, as a gift (mothers day! *hehe*), etc... don't hesitate!

Thanks for looking ;)

Be ready for the next post on fashion accessories! =)

This week: Poppy Flower Necklace by Vadjutka


I adore this necklace!! =) Can I keep it, phleaseeee?

A gentle and modest poppy flower to brighten up you during the winter!
The necklace has a poppy flower made of turquoise colored silk. It hangs on a brass chain.

Length of necklace:
45 cm
17,7 inch

Diameter of flower:
5 cm
2 inch

Vadjutka also wants to mention this:

1 week, and it will be my Etsyversary; the first one. I am celebrating this with a little game and a surprise, so everyone is welcome to play: check out my bilingual blog between 15th February and 19th February. http://vadjutka.blogspot.com

Rules to enter:

1. Visit Vadjutka's shop and pick a favourite item.
2. Leave a comment in this post with your favourite item and a way to contact you (email or etsy link. Leave a contact or I won't be able to place you in the draft).
3. I will select the winner from the comments with a random number generator.
   

This giveaway ends 15th February at midnight EST. Good luck!




If you are a seller and want to offer an item for a giveaway, contact me (see contact details in last section of left column)

Yes, you heard right. One of the trends for this winter is going back to peplum wasists shapes. Now, I didn't have a clue what this 'waist' shape was before I saw this trend. But I realize now this is not a new trend at all.. it sounds... familiar! lol I just didn't know they were called "Peplum waists"



So, what can we do to achieve this look and still wear handmade? I found a few iems that would work well in this category:

Sellers, left to right, top to bottom, are: NodtoModvintage, Kalivoda, thebeeskneesvintage, shopgoodgrace, iheartnorwegianwood, pinkpoodlevintage

So, what do you think? will you be wearing this trend? ;)

On a side note, I just finished my first silk obi belt! Made of my own hand painted silk, sewn by me! (lol I'm a total beginner at sewing so I am super happy with the outcome of this first attempt)
So, what do you think? I love the reddish/orangeish overall color, perfect to combine with a black/grey/brownish dress/shirt. I think it adds a super fashionable touch to the outfit hehe
It will be soon availabe inmy etsy shop for around $45. Do you think it is well priced?



Catwalk image from Fashion tribes

A while ago Bonzie and I got together (virtually lol) and decided to do a collaboration where I would paint some silk and she would make a dress with it =)

So by christmas I saw the dress finally made, and seriously, I had no words! It is named Fall of Night Handkerchief Halter Dress =) She made such a fantastic work with the silk, the dress is simply stunning. I was left totally o_O cause I love the dress so so much, I never even dreamt something so cool could be done with my silks lol

I wanted to tell you all guys about this collaboration a while ago, but life got in the middle and I have had barly no time to post in the blog (as you have noticed, of course). Who would have guessed being unemployed would be so time consuming LOL

Anyways, Bonzie did a photoshoot of the dress last week and send me the pictures and it just looks too amazing. I couldn't resist it and had to share the photos with you! My silk is in a photoshoot!!!!!

And here is the dress on a mannequin:



I feel so happy to see the outcome of this collaboration!

And, the dress is for sale at bonzie's shop! =)

So, what do you think? By the way, this has always been my dream, to paint silk for a designer who can make a great piece out of it. If any other designers are interested in collaborating, drop me a line!

Sorry last week was a little slow! Hope you enjoyed the thanksgiving weekend and do some holidays shopping today :) (It's cyber monday!) oh, and, Hello December!

This week's giveaway: Somebunnie Loves Me by Paper Girl Productions

They are super cute!!!!!! I love plushies, and these ones are fantastic!

A few words from the artist:

The winner will receive ONE plush bunnie made by yours truly..Paper Girl Productions...taking the world on one plushie at a time.

The plush bunnie stands approx 8in tall and is completely handmade one stitch at a time from my own original pattern. Comes from a smoke free home and pet free home for the bunnies are unfortunately allergic to other animals.

Rules to enter:

1. Visit Paper Girl Productions's shop and pick a favourite item.
2. Leave a comment in this post with your favourite item and a way to contact you (email or etsy link. Leave a contact or I won't be able to place you in the draft).
3. I will select the winner from the comments with a random number generator.
   

This giveaway ends 7th December at midnight EST. Good luck!




Also: We are extending the deadline for the giveaway: Key Fob by SewMuchDetail until 7th December too. It's a fantastic keychain, and you still have 1 week to participate!

And finally: I am running a sale! I have marked down all my summer and winter silk shirts from $44 to $30, a %30 discount! Check them out here.

This week we have 3 giveaways!!!!

First giveaway: Rhodochrosite earrings by EarthsOpulence

Lovely earrings!!

Pink and gray swirls... 6mm Rhodochrosite beads sandwiched between sterling beadcaps. Black Diamond Swarovski AB crystals on each end, on a sterling ballpin. Earwires are sterling silver.

Rules to enter:

1. Visit EarthsOpulence's shop and pick a favourite item.
2. Leave a comment in this post with your favourite item and a way to contact you (email or etsy link. Leave a contact or I won't be able to place you in the draft).
3. I will select the winner from the comments with a random number generator.
   

This giveaway ends 9th November at midnight EST. Good luck!




Second giveaway: I am giving away one of my silk mini scarves! This giveaway is hosted at a fellow fashion blog: Fashion Fling

To participate in this giveaway, you have to go to Fashion Fling's blog, visit my shop (GilBea), pick a favourite item and post it in the entry form (not in the comments) in Fashion Fling's post.
Deadline is November 11th =) Enjoy!
Click here to enter the giveaway


Third giveaway: We are extending the deadline for LaurieRyan's print up to 9th November. Please keep participating! =)

One last thing. Please subscribe to our monthly newsletter that will be coming out this week! =)
Thanks to fellow etsians we have articles on: how to make soap, scarf pattern, recipes, fashion, hair styles, and much more!

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If you are a seller and want to offer an item for a giveaway, contact me (see contact details in last section of left column)

Believe me, I always hate when summer gets closer and I realize I have no nice swimwear (aka: all my bikinis are old and falling apart) because for me it's so hard to find a bikini that fits right. And I always panic deciding 2 months before I need to loose weight! Which never happens, by the way. I end up eating more because of the stress of dieting! lol
Anyways, I swear this year this won't happen, after all I only go to the beach 5 or 6 days in the whole summer! haha So why worry :D

What does the fashion world say it's fashionable to wear in the beach this year?


Asymmetric designs, geometric and African prints, tankinis, small bikinis and cut-away swimsuits

More or less what we have seen in the regular spring trends but applied to swimwear. Get some animal print bikini or a white or neon cut-away swimsuit! =)

But definitely it's sooo difficult to buy a bikini, specially those that are just in one size, top and bottom can't be mixed!! In top parts I'd be an S or M, bottom an L. So that won't work for me. And I don't wear full swimsuits anymore because, well, I don't want a white tummy =)

If you have the same problem as me, why not get a custom made bikini/swimsuit at Etsy? These are my picks:

Sellers, from top to bottom, left to right, are (link to the item): missbrache, jMarieBoutique, ladramaqueen, kandiswim, missbrache, littlepinkdress, Harajaku, missbrache, missbrache, saleyla, FlingActive, ladramaqueen, Harajaku, trywesley, MySugarDoll, missbrache

You can tell I like missbrache ah? hehe I really think missbrache and Harajaku are the best swimwear shops I have found in Etsy. Do you have any other favourites? please please let me know! :)

Personally, I'm not a big fan of tankinis, and I kind of hate cut-away swimsuits (what's the point of having a white stripe in your tummy?). This last ones are very fashionable and chic, but I'm not going to any Puff Daddy party in the Hamptons this year so no thanks. :)

Well, I hope you liked this trend review! What kind of swimsuit do you wear? Will you change style this summer?

I did a little research again and found a couple videos about what kind of swimsuit to wear depending on your body type.
These ones looked really helpful: How to pick a suwimsuit for your body type

Yesterday I posted in the Etsy forums about the babydoll dresses. Most people said they like them and their favourite outfit is a babydoll dress with fitted jeans + sandals, or boots over the jeans, or with leggings. So there you go! Also, to show people that you have a waist, wear a belt or scarf around your waist. Good luck with the look, I'm gonna try it too! =)

Find the swimwear fashion article here

And on a totally self promotional note... sorry guys! Just finished this new scarf design:

Hope you like it!! And that you enjoyed the little fashion trend.

Next week:... I don't know yet! Ideas anyone?

Hi! Remember last post I talked about how I placed an alchemy request? This week has been crazy so I didn't get time to take a close look at what the sellers previous work was. I hope to finish this this weekend :)

But, after all your comments, (thank you girls!) I decided to go for one of these two versions of the dress:


(the right side one is a frankestein composed by me like a collage! haha Wish I could draw sketches!)

Where the part that is not black would replaced by my silks. I think it will look really nice :)

I will keep you posted on how this goes! yay! AKA: A buyer's perspective of alchemy =)

On the other side, an etsy fellow requested me a custom item (this ones are handles by alchemy too) and this week I bid on another alchemy request and I got it! YAY! So two other views of the same thing: A personal sellers alchemy request, and a seller's bid in an alchemy accepted by buyer.
I'm still a little confused on the payment of these. It looks like I have to send the buyer a paypal invoice, but I wished Etsy would do it automatically, like when someone buys a regular item!

Will come back tomorrow with some fashion trend report, enough of boring things! hah! :)

Since last summer, I have wanted to have a dress, top or skirt made with my silk designs. However, I can't sew to save my life.

So this week I decided it was time to get a custom item made for my by a seamstress. I didn't really want to find one in my city, because I know how great sellers there are in Etsy and wanted to give them the chance to create something unique for me :)

I made an alchemy request in Etsy. If you don't know what Etsy is, I'll tell you it's an online site where you can find thousands of shops that sell handmade items. And alchemy? Well, it's the way to ask for something custom made, and sellers can bid on your idea.

The only problem is, I really have no clue what kind of dress / top /skirt I want! I just need different ideas from people! :) What I know is that I don't want something formal, because then I will never wear it! lol So probably the key to getting for example a dress I can wear in summer but also maybe as a babydoll with leggings / pants is to make something that is not 100% made of silk, but mixed with other fabrics.

Here are a couple dresses I found in the internet. I like their style and flow, but most of them look too formal to me. I don't want this to go to a wedding or prom.



The thing im not sure about is empire waist. A lot of dresses have that nowadays, but I have this crazy idea that it makes me look like I'm pregnant! hahaha

And now, how do I look? That's important to choose a dress shape! :) I'm about 5.7 feet tall and not very thin lol Not much waist, wide hips and small bust. (yeah, maybe I should just do a top for myself, but I like the idea of a dress!)


Yeah that's me! haha

Ohh I already talked too much. Just wanted your opinion on what kind of dress to get. Or if I should get something different at all. Also if to do all silk or only a piece (I was thinking the bust part in silk and the rest in another fabric would look awesome). And if someone is a seamstress, awesome! Go bid on my alchemy request please! :) Oh, and... does anybody want to make me a nice sketch with his/her ideas??? lol

See my alchemy request at Etsy.

I will be posting a series on my alchemy experiences with this. Right now I got a couple bids and I'm doing the reviewing of their previous work part. Will write about this alchemy again once I find the right seller, and you'll go through the whole process with me if you want!

Please help me decide on a style!! Thanks! :)

Hi there people! This is for a little self promotion.
A couple days ago I posted here the pictures of my first silk handfans. Yay!
Well, I'm happy to announce you can finally buy them at Etsy =)


So far only one is listed, but I think you will like it!

Get it here:
Handpainted Silk Handfan - Peacock feathers - $35

Don't worry, this was a small parenthesis between the fashion reviews ;)

This post is for a little self promotion AAAND some history + culture of the handfan. But I think you are going to like it.

I have always loved the look of handfans: either through history, when the court ladies used them to seduce men or conspire; or nowadays, when the summer gets too warm and we just need something to not die in the sun!

Of course, there are many kinds of handfans, but I really don't know what's it's origin, who invented it or in what country was introduced.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think nowadays the most famous different kinds of handfans are the japanese ones and the spanish ones.

In Spain, the handfan is a strong point of our culture. It is in our tradition, and most women have at least one, mostly used to fight the hot temperatures in summer, but also very famous in the popular dances of south Spain.

In the times when all the ladies used a handfan, it was used to send messages (usually secret love messages!). There were no cell phones! The position of the face, handfan, hand, etc would indicate the message.
Here are a few:

• Close the handfun under your right eye = "When may I see you?"

• Cover the left ear with the open handfan = "Don't tell our secret"

• Fully open the handfan = "Wait for me"

• Handfun on the back of the head = "Don't forget me"

• Turn the handfan with the left hand = "Somebody is watching us"

• Turn the handfan with the right hand = "I love somebody else"

• Move the handfan between the hands = "I hate you"

• Move the handfan around the cheek = "I love you"

• To fan (use the fan) very fast = "I'm madly in love with you"

• To fan very slowly or open and close very slowly = "I'm a married woman, don't try anything"

And the list goes on and on forever! I'll write some more next day =)

So a couple weeks ago I sent a couple of my silks to some people thatmake handfands with different fabrics. After seeing a few silk handfans in some high end fashion stores, I decided I could as well make them with my designs.

Today I got a package in the mail, the handfans are finished!! I got 6 as examples of different sizes, woods. Take a look at some of them:





Now you have an excuse to feel like a lady of the XVIII century! =) Seduce your man with one of this handfans. Soon I will have some in my etsy store. For now, just tell me if you like them or not, please. Is this your style? Would you use one in the hot summer? Handfans are very used as decoration too!

Please let me know your opinion, ideas, etc. And if you want to read more handfan secret messages!! :)

Oh, and seems Klimt liked handfans too! ;)

I can now announce that my tops are in my etsy shop! at last!!! :)
I listed the first one yesterday, here it is:


You can find it here: Racer Back Black Women Top size L - with silk accents
I have this kind of shirt in sizes M and L and in colors: blue/green, purple/pink, red/orange
I really hope people start wearing these! hehe

Wow! So I finally finished the summer collection catalog! :)


It took me a looong time, but here it is at least!
http://www.gilbea.com/Files/GilBeaSummer2008.pdf


GilBea's summer collection for 2008:

• Silk skinny scarves
• Silk small bags
• Hobo bags with silk accents
• Tops with silk accents
• Silk Brooches and Necklaces

I hope you like it!!! :) Feedback is welcome!

I made the catalogue for my wholesale customers. Sadly I don't have that many. I would like my business to grow and start selling in other cities and countries, but so far it has been quite difficult.

Let's talk about painting!
I have been making silk paintings for a few years now, but I only sell them at exhibitions. For the last year I totally dropped that line of my work and focused on silk accessories. I plan now on painting again now that I finished the summer collection. For now, I listed yesterday in Etsy this beauty that I saved from last year's work:


Soon more to come!